Scientific cultivation practice of guava

Known as apple of tropics

Also read: Mango Cultivation Practice

TypeDescriptive
Major subjectPomology

Guava cultivation one liner

Botanical namePsidium guajava L.
FamilyMyrtaceae
OriginTropical America (Grown wild form in Mexico to Peru).
Chromosome numberX = 11, 2n = 22, 33.
Edible partThalamus and pericarp
Fruit typeBerry
Commercial method of propagationStooling and inarching

Chemical composition

Water80-82%
Protein0.7-1%
CHO11-13%
Fat0.5%
Acid2.4%

Also read: Multiple Choice Questions On Pomology

Soil and climate

Soil

  • Favorable soil: loamy clay to light sandy soil.
  • Soil pH: 4.5 to 8.2.

Climate

  • It is grown in tropical and subtropical region.
  • Heigh: 1500 m M. S. L.
  • Favorable night temperature: 10 °C.
  • Annual rainfall: 100 cm or 1000 mm.

Propagation

  • Commercial method: seeds for orchard.
  • Through seed propagation: the propagation of guava should not be in coverage because it gives lower yield and bear poor quality fruits.
  • Soaking of seed in water for 12 hours or in HCL for 3 minutes gives 90 % germination.
  • One year old seedlings becomes ready for grafting and budding.

Vegetative methods

  • In Northern India guava is propagated by Inarching and budding
  • Forket or patch budding is useful in guava.
  • It is adopted where atmosphere humidity is high.

Layering

  • It is commercially adopted in southern and western India.
  • Application of growth regulator: IBA and NAA @ 5000 ppm gives better result.
  • Stooling
  • It is the easiest and cheapest method of guava propagation.
  • It is practiced for quick multiplication of root stick.

Cutting

  • Soft wood or semi hard wood cutting with the application of IBA or NAA @ 250 ppm gives better result

Inarching is quick commercial and highly successful in guava.

Veneer grafting also shows better result (80 % successful.)

Cultivation

Planting

  • Pit size: 1 X 1 X 1 m.
  • Planting system: square system.
  • Planting distance: 5 to 8 m.
  • High density planting in guava is not recommended.

Training and pruning

  • No pruning is done in guava.
  • Training of plants in young stage is done to give strong frame wall.
  • Pruning is usually recommended after harvesting or in spring.

Manure and fertilizer

  • NPK for Northern region: 600:400:600 gm/tree/year.
  • Eastern region: 260:320:260 gm/tree/year.
  • Southern region: 900:600:600 /tree/year.
  • Western region: 600:300:300 gm/tree/year.
  • Deficiency of ‘Zn’ reduce leaf size, interveinal chlorosis and dieback of leaders and it can be corrected by application of ZnSo4 @ 0.45 kg in 33 lit of water.
  • Bronzing is caused by deficiency of B, Zn, N, P, K and low pH.
  • Soluble P (Phosphorus) in leaves is better index for bronzing.

Irrigation

  • Guava is mostly grown under rainfed conditions.
  • Irrigation is given 15-20 days interval in summer and 30 days in winter.

After care

  • Weeds are removed by shallow cultivation.
  • Green manuring should be done during rainy season.
  • Leguminous crop can be grown in first year.
  • Fruit quality of the winter crop is best over the rainy season crop.
  • Practice of taking winter crop instead of rainy season crop is known as crop regulation.

Flowering

  • Guava flowers all the year near the equator.
  • In India guava flowering in northern India- 2 times, other parts of India- 3 times.
  • The best quality fruits are obtain from Sep-Oct flowering.
  • Heaviest yield is obtained from April-May flowering.

Flowering set

  • Fruit set is high in guava
  • Heavy fruit drop about 30-50% fruits may reach harvest maturity.
  • Fruit drop can be controlled by spraying of GA3 15-30 ppm in the month of Jan. reduce fruit drop. Fruit growth
  • Guava fruits show a “double sigmoid growth curve”.
  • Parthenocarpy is not common in guava.
  • Parthenocarpy can be induced in guava by spraying the fruits with Gibberlic acid.

Crop regulation in guava

  1. Ambe bahar: Feb-March (spring), July-Sept (Rainy season).
  2. Mrig bahar:June-July (Rainy) Nov.-Jan (winter season).
  3. Hasth bahar : Oct-Nov (winter) Feb – April.

Fruits are excellent in quality and guava trees are forced to produce: Mrig bahar.

Varieties

L-49

  • Known as Sardar Guava.
  • It is a chance seedling selection from “Allahabad Safeda” in 1927 at Ganesh Khind fruit research station, Pune.
  • L-49 are tolerant to guava wilt.
  • T. S. S and Vit-C are very high.

Allahabad safed

  • Most popular variety of Allahabad.
  • High T. S. S and Vit C.
  • It can withstand drought.

Apple colour

  • Fruits are pink colour.
  • They require for development of good pink colour.

Arka mridula

  • It is seedling selection of Allahabad Safeda.

Allahabad round

  • Parthenocarpic variety.

Arka Amulya

  • It is a cross between Allahabad Safed × seedless Baruipur
  • Important variety of West Bengal.

Chittidar

  • Most popular variety in western U.P.
  • Fruits are characterized by numerous red dots on skin.

Harijha

  • Popular variety of Bihar.

Hafsi

  • It is a red fleshed guava.
  • Grown in Bihar.

Saharanpur seedless and Nagpur seedless

  • Seedless variety.

Allahabad surkha

  • Heavy yielder.
  • Yield: 80-100 kg/tree.

Behat coconut

  • It is a seedless variety.

Hybrid variety

  • Kohir safeda: Kohir × Allahabad safeda
  • Safed jam: A.S × Kohir
  • Guava wilt is common in alkaline soil.
  • Banding is practiced in guava (mainly M. H.)

Harvesting

  • Harvesting through out the year. (Except May and June).
  • Pick harvesting period for rainy season crop is August.
  • For winter season: Nov.-Dec.
  • For spring season: March-April.
  • For local market harvesting are done at fully yellow stage.
  • For distant market: half yellow stage.
  • The plant starts bearing 2-3 years of age.
  • Fall bearing capacity: 8-10 years.
  • Ripening of guava increases in rainy season due to high temperature and slow down in winter season due to low temperature.

Post harvest management

Shelf life of guava can be increased up to 20 days by keeping them at low temp.
(5 °C) and Relative humidity (75-85%).

Bearing starts from seeds: 5 to 6 years.
Vegetative method: 2 to 3 years.
Economic yield: 8 to 10 years.

Yield

  • On an average a tree may yield 100 to 350 kg/year/tree.
  • About 1000 fruits/tree of 10 year old.

Insect-pests

  • Fungi associated with guava wilt are Acrophobia spp., Fusarium sp. and Cephalosporium sp.
  • Favorable pH for spread of guava wilt is 7.5 – 9.0 since fungus cannot grow at pH below 4.5 and above 8.6, thus management of this disease is to keep soil pH between this ranges.
  • Anthracnose in guava is caused by Colletotrichum psidi.
  • Apple colour variety of guava is tolerant to anthracnose.
  • Guava canker is caused by a fungus: Diploid netalensis.
  • Fruit mumification is observed in plants affected with guava wilt.

Insects

Fruit fly

  • It is one of the the major pest of guava.
  • Control: spraying with dimethoate @ 0.03 % or Malathion 0.05% are useful.

Guava scale

  • It is also another serious pest of guava.
  • The honey dew excreted by the scales.
  • Control: spraying with Ethion 0.04 % or Lamate 0.05 %.
  • Releases of predatory beetle (Cryptolaemus monorouzierii) are effective.

Diseases

Guava wilt

  • C.O.: Fusarium roseum oxysporum f. psidi. Wilt is the most serious disease of guava.
  • It is a fungal disease.
  • A guava orchard of more than 30 years is not possible because most of its plant die above 20 years age due to wilting.
  • Control: drench the soil with Brassicol.
  • Spray the plant with Bavistin (0.1%)
  • Growing of resistant root stock e.g. Banarsi, Dholka, Sind, Nasik, Supreme.

Anthracnose

  • C.O.: Gleosporium psidi.
  • The effected plants begin to die back from top of the branch.
  • Control: spraying the trees with Difolation or Dithan Z78.

Fruit rot

  • C.O.: Phytopthora nicotianae
  • Develop of dark brown circular spot at the blossom end of immature green fruit.
  • Control: application of Dithane Z78 (0.2 %) is effective.

Other important points

  • Strawberry guava/cattleya guava (P. Cattleionum) is considered as an important species for use as a root stock.
  • Pineapple guava/feijoa is scientifically known as Feijoa sellowiana belongs to guava family.
  • Brazilian guava /Guinea guava (Psidium guineens) has small fruit with poor fruit quality.
  • Mountain guava, P. mountanum is a shrub about 1.5 m high with flat branches.
  • Chines guava, P. friedrichasthalianum isa dwarfing root stock and is resisitant to guava wilt.
  • Fruit of Psidium pomiferum is apple shaped and that of P. pyriferum as pear shaped.
  • The trees of P. Catteianum var. lucidum are large in size and are resistant to wilt.
  • Guava is generally trained to modified leader system.
  • Vit. C content is the highest in fruit peel at mature stage.
  • Seedlessness in guava is attributed to autoploidy (seedless are 2n = 3x = 33) and not as the result of parthenocarpic fruit development.
  • Guava is climatric fruit and botanically fruit is a berry.
  • Guava bears flower solitary or in cyme of two or three flower on the current season growth on the axil of the leaves.
  • Chemicals recommended in guava for blossom thinning are NAA, NAD and 2,4-D.
  • Bahar treatment in guava is achieved by the application of NAA @ 400-800 ppm or Ethephon @ 1000-1500 ppm or urea (15- 20%) following may pruning (heading back)
  • Psidium cattleianum is good for quality P. pumilum for dwarfing and P. cattleinum var.
  • lucidum and seedless against guava wilt for breeding.
  • Guava fruits can be stored for 4 weeks at 8-10 °C and 80-90 % humidity.
  • Guava fruits can be stored for 4 weeks at 8-10 °C and 80-90 % humidity.
  • Guava wilt is most common in alkali soils (pH 7.5-9.0)

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